I Wouldn't Mind
by EmmyGoldsworthy13
Summary: Eli loves to get under peoples' skin. What happens when his favorite girl to annoy is forced to be his Social Studies tutor? Will it end up becoming more? R&R!
1. Under Her Skin

**Hey Guyss. I started this because I can't update my story _Secrets_ for a whileee. My laptop got this nasty virus, and it, like, would _not_ go away with any scans or anything. So my dad took it in to the store to get it fixed, and it could be a couple of days. But, anyway, the next chapter of _Secrets_ is on my laptop... and I kind of don't have it. So I started this on a different computer. So yeahh. R&R, pleeease. (:**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own Degrassi, you must be an idiot. **

_**P.s.- This is in ELI'S POINT OF VIEW! :D**_

"Elijah Goldsworthy." Mr. Purino called from his desk. I rolled my eyes and glanced at him, and he waved his hand towards me, signaling me to come to his desk. I sighed in annoyance, and stuck my black pen behind my ear. I strode over to his desk, and stood there with an irritated face.

"It's _Eli._" I spat at him, and he gave me a serious look.

"Well, Mr. Goldsworthy, it's come to my attention that your grade is slipping." He said matter-of-factly, handing me a piece of white paper. I snatched it out of his grip and flipped my hair out of my face with my hand.

My transcript.

I chuckled when I read the first line: '_Doesn't use much effort on homework.'_

"What seems to be so funny, _Elijah?" _He said with an irritated expression. I smirked. That's exactly what I wanted.

"Oh_, nothing_." I said, my smirk glued to my face. He just glared at me, and I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. It was so easy to get under this guy's skin.

That's what made this fun.

I raised an eyebrow at him, and then went to finish reading the paper in my hands. Before I even read a whole sentence, he grabbed it out of my hand and whipped it back onto his desk with a little too much force. I felt my smirk widen as I saw how much I'd urked him.

"Why don't you do your social studies homework?" He asked through his teeth. _Because you're a douche bag, and I love to irritate you,_ I thought. I shrugged and hooked my thumbs into my pockets.

"I don't feel like it." I said, knowing that that answer would annoy him to no end. He closed his eyes slowly and clenched his jaw, and then took a deep breath and blew it out.

"You have A's in every other class, Mr. Goldsworthy. Apparently, you _feel _like doing homework in your other classes." He snapped at me.

"Well, that's because I actually _enjoy _my other classes." I retorted, and then turned to walk back to my desk.

"Get back here." Purino said in a harsh tone, and I smiled quickly before hiding it as I turned back around. I took the few steps to his desk, and waited as he sat there in his stupid swivel chair, gritting his teeth. I rolled my eyes. This was such a waste of my time. I felt eyes staring at me from behind, and I looked over my shoulder to see almost half the class watching my confrontation with the teacher. My smirk came back as I watched Purino mentally debating something in his head. "Elijah, you need to do your homework." He said, cooled down and ready to talk to me again.

But, I couldn't have that.

"No." I said point-blank, watching the creased lines on his forehead get longer as he become more agitated. They quickly disappeared as he went in one of his drawers. He pulled out a pad of paper, wrote on it, ripped it off, and gave it to me. I scoffed as I snatched it out of his hand.

"Maybe this will make you reconsider your options." He said while sneering. That smug look on his face made me want to punch him. I glanced down at the slip, and a slight smile made its way onto my face.

"You can't give me a detention for choosing not to do my homework." I said snarkily.

"No, but I can punish you for being such a smartass." Purino barked at me. I smirked, because I got the reaction I wanted. He seemed taken aback by his choice of words, and he seemed flustered as he heard the short gasps from a few students in the front row of the class. I chuckled and shook my head, and once again turned around to walk back to my desk, crumpling up the piece of paper in my palm. I received a look from the person next to me, but it didn't even faze me.

"I'll meet you in the cafeteria after school, _Elijah."_ He half-shouted at me from his desk. I rolled my eyes as I heard his annoying habit of using my entire first name.

"Can't wait." I said sarcastically as the bell rang for next period. I sighed happily, silently thanking a god that I didn't believe in that I wouldn't have to be in this goddamn classroom with Purino anymore this period. I put my book, binder, and notebook back into my black bag, and strutted out of the classroom, lucky to be the third one out the door. I almost smiled as I remembered what my next class will be.

_English._

I loved creative writing. It let me use my creativity differently than I could with any other class, and liked it. A lot. But that wasn't the only reason I loved it.

There was this curly-haired, blue-eyed, and shy girl that sat next to me. And it was so easy to get under her skin, but she wasn't like everyone else.

She actually fought back, instead of just absorbing my irritating comments like everyone else.

Damn, I loved it.

I reached my locker and twisted the dial until it opened with a soft noise. I stuffed my social studies materials in my locker amongst the untidy papers on the metal shelf, and grabbed my English book along with my notebook. I snatched my black pen from behind my ear, and shut my locker while twisting the dial once more to lock it. I hitched my bag up higher onto my shoulder as I headed towards Mrs. Dawes room, and as I rounded the corner, I watched a frantic Clare Edwards fast-walking to get into class on time. I smirked as I watched her, and then I heard the familiar ringing sound of the bell. I continued to walk as I knew I was late again, and when I got there, Mrs. Dawes was just about to close the door. I stopped it with my hand, and she turned her head to see what was blocking the door. She looked strangely amused as she saw it was me.

"Mr. Goldsworthy. Tardy, again?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged and pushed myself through the opening of the door to get into the classroom.

"Yep." I muttered as I walked tentatively over to my desk behind the blue-eyed girl, ignoring the stares I was getting from the other teenagers in the class. Mrs. Dawes gave the class a small smile as she shut the door, and then started to teach.

"Shakespeare was a legend in the writing world, and he accomplished so much in such a short period of time." She started, and then continued on with the boring history of a writer I didn't care much about. I turned to see Clare staring intently at the teacher, taking in everything Dawes was saying with such a serious expression, it almost made me scoff. I smirked as I took my pen from the spiral of my notebook, and started to tap it lightly on the shiny wooden desk as I pretended to listen to the lecture we were being given. I watched Clare with my peripheral vision, and she was glaring at the piece of plastic in my hands. I tapped it more rhythmically, starting to get a rise out of the interesting girl next to me.

"_Stop."_ She whispered shortly, and I turned to see her looking at me with an irritated expression. My mouth curved up more towards the left side as my smirk came back. I looked back towards the front of the classroom and tapped the pen louder against the wood. I heard her sigh in annoyance as she tried to ignore the continuous noise of plastic against the desk. _"Eli, quit it." _She said harshly under her breath, and I kept it up, knowing she would crack soon. _"I mean it."_ She said quietly, glaring daggers at the side of my head as Mrs. Dawes babbled on about a subject I wasn't listening to. I started to bob my head happily to the beat of the tapping, which only made her more annoyed by my irritating presence next to her. _"Shut. The. Fuck. UP." _She said harshly, and on the inside, I was in awe that she even cursed in the first place. But I didn't let my surprise show on the outside. I hadn't noticed that Dawes had stopped talking about the subject.

"Clare Edwards." Mrs. Dawes said sternly, looking in Clare's direction. You could practically see the _'Oh shit.'_ expression on Clare's face. She turned to me with a fiery look in her eyes, and then turned back to the teacher. "Meet me after class." Dawes said, pointing a shaky finger towards her desk. She gave Clare a look, but then continued teaching.

"Thanks a lot, _Elijah."_ She muttered, dragging out my name as she stared a disgruntled look at her notebook in front of her.

"For what?" I asked smugly, trying to sound innocent by my question.

"For getting me in trouble. Again." Clare said, scribbling down notes on the lined sheets of paper in her composition notebook. I scoffed.

"_I, _didn't do anything, Edwards." I said with a smirk, knowing that I was making her irritated. She opened her mouth to say something, but then pursed her lips and closed her eyes as she clenched her fists and looked back towards the front of the room. She continued taking more notes, and I only felt my smirk grow wider as a smug feeling overtook my mind, and I opened my black spiral notebook to make it look like I was listening. I pulled my dark, worn sharpie from my blazer's pocket, and took the cap off to start drawing on my fingernails for it seemed the millionth time this week. I thought about bothering Clare more, but I decided that I'd annoyed her enough for one period. The rest of the class went by slowly, and it seemed like each minute lasted longer than it should've. Finally, there was only a minute until the bell, and everyone began packing up their things from the desk and into their backpacks. I looked at Clare, and she had a nervous vibe coming out from her as she stared at the clock. She gulped as she started putting away her things, and she jumped as the loud ring of the bell blared out from the intercom on the wall.

She got up hesitantly, taking fervent steps up to Dawes' desk, giving me a short glare from over her shoulder as she made her way to the metal desk. I got up to leave, but not before seeing Clare stand there with a blush on her face as the teacher spoke to her. I smirked and stood there outside the door, waiting for her to finish up. I watched the flooding hallway of hurrying students, flashes of yellow, purple, red, and blue polos flashing by my laid-back stance, leaning against the wall. There was a couple leaning against a locker together, smiling and laughing, and I about made a gagging noise. Whatever they had going on, wasn't real. Love didn't exist, or at least it shouldn't. It only crumbles you down and leaves you hanging there, desperately trying to eat away at you until you crack.

Well, at least that's how it had worked for me, when I was a freshman at Lakehurst. I tried to shake the thoughts of the brown haired, doe-eyed girl that had been haunting my dreams out of my mind, but right then the door opened, revealing a red-faced, open-mouthed Clare Edwards.

"What happened?" I asked her, and she almost jumped at the sound of my voice.

"I, um… I have a detention after school in the cafeteria." She said angrily, looking at me with a betraying expression. I smirked.

_Perfect._

**_End of Chapter 1. _**

**_Like? Love? Hate? Review, Pleeease. _**

**_I believe in short first chapters. haha. So, the following chapters will be much longer. Pinky Promise._**

**_The next chapter will be Eli and Clare in detention, and you can bet all your llamas that it'll be pretty awesome. Once againn, Pleeeaase Review if you want me to continue this! _**

**_Looove, a strangley tired Macy. _**


	2. Yes, I'm Aware I'm Infuriating

**Hey Guyss. Here's the second chapter, I know I'm not the greatest at updating on a regular basis... sorry, haha. With that said, R&R pleeease? ;)**

***Disclaimerrr: I don't own Degrassi or any of it's characters... _Except Eli. *Suggestive wink.* _**

"Wipe the freaking smirk off your face, _Elijah."_ She snapped at me, and then turned abruptly to stride away from me, headed for her locker. I followed her, my smirk still in place. She turned and looked over her shoulder, and groaned loudly while rolling her eyes. She stopped mid-step and turned around, glaring at me as I almost ran right into her. I stopped in front of her, her and I only a knick in the wall as the rest of the students rushed past us, happy that the day was over. She sighed exasperatedly as she turned around with her arms crossed, and walked the rest of the way to her locker. I followed her again, leaning against the locker next to hers as she put her books and spirals into her locker. She slammed it shut angrily, and the sound didn't faze me one bit. "Is that all you can _do? _Smirk and be infuriating?" She spat at me, glaring daggers at me as she walked past me on her way to the cafeteria.

"I'm aware I'm infuriating. But, actually, no. I'm capable of _lots of other things." _I told her, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively, hoping she got what I meant. After a few seconds, she scoffed and crossed her arms again, speeding up her pace as she turned a corner.

"You're disgusting." She told me, striding farther down the hall. I jogged lightly to keep up with her; damn, she was quick.

"Oooh, _feisty." _I stated with a chuckle. She jogged into the cafeteria, sitting at a table in the far corner, eyeing the other teens in the room. She still had the fiery look in her eyes as she watched me sit down a few tables away, at a table where a kid sat. I remembered he was in my advanced biology class.

What was his name? Aaron, Damon, Adam? _Adam! _That's it.

"Hey… Adam…?" I said, my sentence ending up sounding more like a question than anything else.

"Hmm…?" He asked, not being able to take his eyes off of the comic he was reading. I glanced at it, and I immediately did a double-take. _Was that what I think it was?_

"Um, is that _The Goon?" _I asked in awe, and he finally looked up. He nodded shortly, a small smile pulling up the corners of his lips. I quickly pulled my bag off of my shoulder, digging in it for what I was looking for. I felt the smoothness of the comic, and pulled it out, slapping it down on the table. His face lit up when he read the cover.

"No way!" He exclaimed, his smile getting bigger. "Eli, right?" He asked, pausing to look at me again. I nodded.

"Eli Goldsworthy." I said, taking my hand up from under the table to hold my hand out for him to shake. He shook it briefly, eyeing my comic again.

"Adam Torres." He said, still in awe of his discovery of a fellow comic reader. Mr. Purino interrupted our conversation, clearing his throat, making all our heads turn. I glanced at Clare, and she was looking towards our table with wide eyes. I smirked when Purino strode over to her table, slamming his hand down on top of it to get her attention. She jumped at the noise, and nodded after being asked for her attention.

"Well, guys… _and girls,"_ He said loudly, giving Clare a pointed look, making her blush when she saw all the eyes on her. "No talking, no note passing, no laughing, no noise. Got it?" He said, locking eyes with every person in the room briefly, his eyes lingering on mine longer than everyone else's. "Good. I'll be right there across the cafeteria, so don't even _think_ about sneaking off." He said, gesturing towards me and making me smirk, listening to a few short laughs in the room. He walked over and plopped down at a table, taking out a stack of papers and a pen. I glanced at Adam, and he mimicked Purino in a series of mumbles, making me chuckle quietly. I looked past Adam to see Clare with her nose already buried inside her social studies book, and I rolled my eyes slightly. Classic Clare. Adam's eyebrows pinned together, turning around to see what my attention was on. His eyes widened and a smirk of his own filled his face when he saw Clare, and then he wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"Clare-Bear, huh?" He asked quietly, giving me an expectant expression, and I shook my head quickly.

"_Clare-Bear?" _I whispered with a small smile, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I gave her that nickname when we were kids." He said as if it were nothing. My eyes were close to popping out of my head at his statement.

"You knew her when she was a kid?" I asked in awe, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Our mom's have been like, best friends since we were babies." He said quietly, looking at her again. "I wonder what she did to get here, this time." He said, amused, changing the subject. I was about to ask him more, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I heard the most fucking annoying man on earth clear his throat. I lifted my glare to make eye contact with him, and he glared right back.

"Torres. Goldsworthy. No talking. This is your last warning." He said, pointing a finger at me. I rolled my eyes and waved my hand to dismiss him, getting out my iPod from my backpack. I glanced at Adam, and he was already too absorbed in his comic to notice. I put the ear buds in my ears, and scrolled through my obscene amount of music, choosing a song and putting the volume level up full blast, putting it in my blazer pocket. I opened to the first page of my comic, and started to read. I sighed, I'd already read this one twice, and it was boring since I knew what would happen, anyway.

So I shut it, putting it back in my bag, instead finding a pencil and my worn black journal, opening up somewhere in the middle, skimming through the pages of my sloppy handwriting to find a blank page. The words were scribbled down fluently, coming so easily to me. Even if the words were full of angst, they were mine. It was only for my eyes, only for _me. _Every single thought, every single fear, are written down in black and white. Whether my thoughts and fears were in this journal, or in one of my many piles on notebooks in my closet, it was _there._ I felt a tap on my shoulder, only to meet a pair of eyes scarily similar to Clare's. Adam gestured somewhere across the room with his eyes, and I pulled my ear buds out to glance at Purino. He made a lowering gesture with my hand, telling me to turn down my music. I glared at him and turned it down a few notches, only putting one ear bud in so I could hear things other than my music. I glanced at Purino, and he was staring intently at the girl a few tables away; Clare.

"Ms. Edwards." He said from across the room, and Clare lifted her head up from her social studies homework.

"Yes?" She asked, her pencil pausing, no longer scribbling on the sheet of paper.

"Have you ever thought about tutoring?" He asked, staring at her as she had a puzzled expression. She shook her head.

"I haven't before, but it sounds like fun." She said, her anger gone as she talked to him.

"How would you like to tutor one of my students?" He asked, and she nodded with a smile.

"I'd love to." She said softly, and then focused all her attention back into her worksheet. She looked up when Purino started to talk again.

"You see, this student of mine doesn't feel like doing his homework…" He said, looking thoughtfully sad to put on a show for her, making eye contact with me briefly.

That's when it clicked.

Oh no, no, no no no… he can't be talking about me. He can't be. Is he serious?

"And I would just appreciate it if you could somehow make sure he gets it done each day." He finished, and she nodded, the smile still on her face.

"I'll do it." She said happily, completely unaware of my pure horror. My eyes were wide, giving Purino the most accusing stare, him only avoiding my gaze and smiling sickly.

"Good. Now, I'm counting on you to help this boy, however stubborn and sometimes _insistent _he is." And I heard Clare laugh shortly before nodding. "You'll be meeting with him tomorrow in the library after school, clear?" He asked with hope, and she nodded again.

"Okay, I'll be there." She said with a smile, still completely unaware. Now, he turned to me with the same sick smile on his face.

"Mr. Goldsworthy." He shouted, narrowing his eyes. I made my eyes do the same, somehow hoping that this glare would make him change his mind. "It seems that Clare Edwards will be your social studies tutor." He said, chuckling darkly, and I heard Clare's loud gasp.

"Are you serious?" Clare asked loudly in protest, meeting my eyes, horror now in her's as well.

"As serious as a heart attack." Purino said sternly, then putting on an innocent expression. "Why? Is there something wrong?" He said as innocent as he could possibly muster. I scoffed.

"Wow. You're a real _dick, _you know that?" I said with a surefire expression, pursing my lips in anger.

"What was that, _Elijah?"_ He asked, with a fiery expression, pretending not to hear what I said. I heard Adam gasp shortly, and I looked at him briefly enough to see that he was staring wide-eyed at me. I looked back at Purino.

"Oh, _nothing._" I said sardonically, repeating what I said to him earlier. He rolled his eyes briefly as his eyes went back to Clare's angry form.

"Mr. Purino, I'm sorry, but I can't tu-" She started but was interrupted by him.

"You already agreed, and I already have your form filled out. Sorry, but you're stuck." He said, his sick smile returning to his face. I heard her groan, and it only made my smirk get wider.

"Is this a _joke? _'Cause I would _love_ to hear the punch line, right now!" She exclaimed loudly, crossing her arms as she switched glances between my smirking face and Purino's aging one.

"Nope, he's serious." I said, angry that he would even think of getting me a tutor. I'm capable of understanding the homework, I just choose to ignore it completely, because I know it gets under his skin. "I don't need a tutor." I said, this time directed to him.

"Yes, you do." Purino argued, and I rolled my eyes. I'm seriously going to waste my time with this? "What's done is done, Elijah." He said with finality, and I about got up and punched him in the face. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply through my nose in annoyance.

"For the _last freaking time, _don't call me _Elijah." _I spat at him loudly, and he only chuckled and shook his head. He glanced at the clock, and started stacking up the papers he'd graded.

"Well, ladies and gents, detention's over. Eli, meet Clare in the library tomorrow after school, and I'll expect you both to be there." He said, making stern eye contact with both me and Clare.

"But-" Clare started to argue, but he stuck up his hand to tell her not to finish that sentence.

"No buts." He ended, and then spoke again.

_"Jesus fucking christ, just spit it out so I can leave." _I said under my breath in irritation, and I heard Adam chuckle.

"If either of you aren't there, expect to have detention for the next week." He said, giving me a pointed look. I groaned.

"Fine. Can we just freaking _leave_ already?" I said in annoyance, and he waved his hand, signaling we could go. I packed up my notebook and stuck it in my bag with all my other homework, and stood up from the table.

"Hey." I heard Adam say, and I turned around. "You wanna' hang out sometime?" He asked, putting his comic book in his backpack. "So we can talk comic books." He added, and I was immediately in. I half smiled.

"Sure. How about tomorrow after…" I shuddered dramatically. "_Tutoring."_ He laughed.

"Sounds good. I'll meet you outside the library." He said, getting up and walking away. "See you later." He called over his shoulder, and then he was gone. Clare was still packing up, and she noticed me looking.

"When I'm being _forced_ to tutor you, don't irritate me, don't touch me, don't even _look at me._" She finished, hitching her handbag up on her shoulder and walking away. I followed her out into the parking lot, a smirk finding it's way onto my face.

"Fine." I said, holding up my hands in mock surrender as she turned around to look at me. "Bye Edwards." I said, turning to walk over to Morty with my smirk everlasting.

I heard her mutter _"Jesus Christ. Just shut up and let me leave." _I chuckled.

"I'm not keeping you here. You're the one that's still standing there." I called out over my shoulder, my smirk remaining, and she turned around to walk away.

"Shut up!" She shouted, walking down the steps, and my smirk just grew wider.

_This is going to be fun, _I thought to myself.

_**End of Chapter 2. **_

**Ahah. I looove Adam, I had to put him in this. **

**Sooo. How was this chapter? Did you like it? I've done my part... now do yourss! Please revieww, I love them. *_Hint Hint, they make me write the next chapter quickerrr... Just sayinnn'. hahh. _**

**-Macy.**


	3. Fun To Mess With

**Hey Guys, thanks for all the awesome reviews on the previous couple of chapters! Today, August 24th, is the one year anniversary of my friend Lydia's death, so the song at the end of this story is dedicated to her. I loved her to death, hell, I still do, but I guess life isn't always perfect. So, here's chapter 3, hopefully you'll enjoy it! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or the song _I Wouldn't Mind _by _He Is We._**

The next day went by insanely slow. Every ticking second that went by on the clock, felt like ten. At lunch, I sat in front of my locker with an apple, getting a start on the newest edition of _The Goon._ I was taking a loud, crunching bite of the juicy red apple when someone spoke.

"Hey, man." Adam said, moving to sit next to me.

"Hey." I said, my eyes never leaving the dark comic in front of me. I heard Adam rustling around in his backpack, and out of the corner of my eye, I watched as he set his own newest edition of the comic on his lap. I smirked as he opened it up excitedly, already several pages ahead of me. As I continued to read, I felt a shadow cast over us as someone stood in front of Adam and I. I looked up, only to see a stubborn, feisty Clare Edwards giving Adam a slight smile as she looked down at him.

"You're on the new one, already?" She asked him, looking amused, and ignoring my presence completely. I sighed inaudibly before my eyes landed back on the comic in front of me, tuning out Adam and Clare's conversation. My eyes widened as I read an unexpected- _very_ unexpected- twist at the bottom of the page, and I flipped it eagerly to read the outcome.

"Eli? Eli!" Adam tried to get my attention by snapping his fingers in front of my face, and I reluctantly looked away from the excitement on the page of the comic. I looked between a sudden anger-stricken Clare to a mischievous looking Adam, confusion overtaking my expression.

"What?" I asked them, still confused.

"Did you hear what I asked?" Adam questioned, looking at me expectantly. I shook my head at him, glancing at Clare as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down the hallway. "Do you still want to hang out after your tutoring session is over?" He asked me, and I nodded.

"Yeah, sounds good." I said, flashing him a smile. My smile quickly turned down as I watched Clare huff in annoyance and walk away from us, her angry face disappearing behind a corner. "What's up with _her?"_ I asked Adam, and he only gave me a look. "What?" I questioned him, the look he gave me only making my curiosity become more urgent.

"Like you don't know." Adam said, flipping the page as he glanced at the comic strip on the page covering the page in his lap. He looked up, only to see my eyebrows pinned together. "She hates you." He said matter-of-factly, and I rolled my eyes.

"I couldn't tell." I said sarcastically, a smirk finding it's way onto my face. He only continued.

"She doesn't want me to hang out with you, because she finds you… what did she say? _Infuriating._" He told me, putting air quotes around infuriating. My smirk only grew bigger, and I looked back down to the comic in my hands. "_Are_ you infuriating?" He questioned, once again looking amused. I shrugged.

"You could say that." I answered, and continued. "It's just simple to get under her skin." I flipped the page, bobbing my foot after I crossed them out straight on the floor.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked, still not looking up from his comic, while I did the same.

"It's easy to annoy her, to… you know, get a rise out of her." I told him, shrugging once again, continuing to read about the compromise between two characters. I turned my head to see that Adam was laughing and shaking his head.

"I think you're mistaken. Clare doesn't let anything bother her." He told me, and that only made my ego lift even higher.

"Uh, yes she does." I said, chuckling once. "She freaks out on me _all _the time." I said, no longer paying attention to my comic. "She got detention the other day because she _swore_ at me in English class." I told him smugly, and I almost laughed as I saw Adam's jaw drop.

"She _what?"_ He questioned, in pure awe and surprise.

"You heard me." I answered, nodding my head slowly.

"What'd she _say?"_ He asked another question, now not paying attention to his comic book anymore either.

"She told me to '_Shut the fuck up.'" _I told him, and if it were possible, his mouth got even wider in shock.

"We _are_ talking about the same Clare, right?" He questioned in awe, standing up and putting his comic book away in his backpack. I chuckled lightly before mirroring his action as I took another bite of my apple, holding it with my mouth as I stood up.

"I'm pretty sure." I answered, hiking my bag higher up on my shoulder as I heard the bell ring, signaling the end of lunch.

"See you after tutoring, man." Adam said, holding out his fist for me to bump. After we said our bye's, I turned around to get my materials for English. My smirk crept back up as I thought about Clare, and the conversation Adam and I just had about her. She had spunk, a certain quality not many girls had. She wasn't afraid to fight back; she looked past my exterior, which was something that drove most other people away. I didn't want her to hate me, I really didn't. But it was just too much fun getting under her skin like no one else could.

Sure, she was pretty. She had natural, curly, auburn hair, and huge blue eyes that soften you with one glance. Unlike most of the fake girls her age, she didn't cover her face with tons of make-up everyday and dye her hair every other week. She was natural, different, _real._ She stood out, but in a _good_ way.

Hell, who am I kidding? She's beautiful.

And as I strode into English class and saw her sitting there, watching me with her soft blue eyes as I walked in, I didn't even care that her eyes rolled when she saw me. It just this girl to be even more beautiful than it'd thought two seconds ago.

.

.

.

When school was over, I grabbed my bag from my locker and went straight for the library. I think Purino was a real dick to make me get a tutor, but if I got to hang out with Clare whilst that was happening, then _who cares? _I'll take that opportunity in a heartbeat. I walked the semi-busy hallways until I found the door to the library, held open with a door-stopper. When I peered through the door, I couldn't help but admire the view. Clare was sitting at a table with a book in front of her, assumedly waiting for me to get there. I knocked on the doorframe with my knuckles, the soft sound making her glance up from her book and sigh before putting it back in her bag. I scowled mockingly, trying to make her think that I didn't like it any more than she did. I picked a seat across from her, sinking down onto the thick plastic chair before getting my social studies book out of my bag.

"I'm only here to make sure you finish your homework." She told me, giving me a half-glare. I smirked as I saw how much I'd urked her just by being here. I looked at the first question in the packet due tomorrow, and I felt like closing the book and just ignoring it all together.

_1. Between Athens and Sparta, which civilization had better army training? Support your answer with at least ten sentences. _

_This is going to take a while,_ I thought to myself. I read a paragraph in the book, and sure enough, the answers were right there. I wrote them down in my care-free script, then went on to the next question. I found that one too, and the next one after that. _This might not take as long as I thought. _

"Eli?" Clare asked out of nowhere.

"Hm?" I mumbled, in the middle of writing down an answer.

"You're clearly capable of understanding the material… so, why don't you ever do your homework?" She questioned, and I shot her a small smile.

"Why are you asking me that? I thought you hated me." I said, and she seemed taken aback by my bluntness.

"I don't _hate_ you… you're just… annoying." She said frankly, giving me a playful glare. I contemplated something, but then shrugged.

"So I've heard." I told her, and she still looked puzzled. What was so confusing?

"You never answered my question." She pointed out, and I smiled at her determination to understand what I was doing.

"It makes Purino pissed when I don't finish my homework. So I don't do it." I said casually, as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet.

"Why does that even matter?" Clare asked me, and I shrugged again before pursing my lips.

"He's one of those people… that are just fun to mess with." I answered, and she seemed to be thinking about my reply as if it was the answer to an unsolved mystery. She didn't say anything, so I went back to finish writing my answer on the homework packet.

"Like… _me?"_ She asked after a minute, pointing her index finger towards herself.

"What?" I questioned, confused by her sudden question.

"Am _I_ one of those people that are fun to mess with?" She asked, and I mentally kicked myself. What was I supposed to say? _'Yes, you're pretty, funny, and it makes my entire day when I manage to get under your skin?' _No.

"Yes." I said, shooting her a smirk, and it quickly turned into a smile as I saw the heat rush to her face. She seemed to accept my answer, and then moved onto the next thing. Why was she talking to me? She said she couldn't stand being near me when I was so _'infuriating'._

"I don't get it." She stated simply, looking down at the wooden table in front of us. I pinned my eyebrows together. What does she mean?

"What don't you get?" I asked her curiously, and she shook her head, looking confused herself.

"You're being… _tolerable. Why?" _She asked, and I immediately knew what she meant. I wasn't even trying to irritate her, I wasn't trying _anything._ I liked to annoy her because then she would fight back, which meant talking to me. She was already talking to me right now, so I had no reason to try anything. But, hell no, I couldn't tell her _that. _So, I only shrugged, which only confused her more. "You don't _know, _or you don't want to tell me?" She questioned, and I smirked again before repeating the shrugging action. "Okay, so, you don't want to _tell me…"_ Damn, she was good. "Why not?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me with a sly little smile on her face.

"Can I just do my homework?" I pleaded, not wanting to have this conversation with her. She continued to look at me while I answered another question on the worksheets. I wasn't even halfway through another question when her voice rang out through the quiet room. Damn, this girl would just _not_ give up.

"No. Tell me." She said in a playful yet demanding tone, and I threw my head back and groaned at her.

"Elijah." She deadpanned, and I glared at her use of my full name.

"Not gonna' _tell you."_ I said in a sing-song voice, dragging out the last two words. She only giggled, which immediately made my annoyed vibe disappear.

"If you tell me why you're suddenly being so tolerable, I'll let you finish your homework, and we can leave. Deal?" She said smartly, sticking out her hand from across the table. I hesitated before shaking it.

"Deal." I agreed, knowing I might quite possibly regret this. I took a deep breath; no use going around it, I guess I should just tell the truth. "I like to get under your skin because then you'll talk to me. But, you're already talking to me right now, so there's not point in trying to irritate you." I spoke truthfully, but then picked up my pencil and continued filling in more answers. "Will you drop it, now?" I went on to the next question, easily finding the answer and writing it down.

"I would talk to you if you weren't annoying." She said quietly, getting out her book that she had been reading before I got here. I looked up, just taking this in.

"Okay." I said, not really knowing what else to say. "But I'm still doing to bother you every once in a while." I said, smirking at her. She groaned into the empty air jokingly, a small smile on her face once she was finished. I glanced at the cover of her book, and I felt as if my eyes were about to pop out of my head. "You read _Vonnegut?" _I asked in bewilderment, not being able to digest that out of everyone in the world, Clare Edwards would be reading his books.

"Yeah." She said with a smile, opening her book up to where she'd left off. "You familiar with him?" She questioned, and I scoffed.

"Oh, I've only read _his first five novels._" I said sarcastically, and she laughed softly, making me smirk. Suddenly, her face adorned a new pink hue, and I felt a new round of confusion cloud my brain. "What's wrong?" I asked her, gesturing to her cheeks with my sharpied hand. Her face got slightly darker as I pointed this out, and my smirk was back.

"Nothing, it's just… have you heard of Chuck Palahniuk?" She questioned, and I answered immediately.

"Hell yeah. What about him?" I asked, penciling in a few more questions before flipping to the last page of the packet.

"I actually have two tickets for a _Fight Club_ excerpt on Friday night. I was going to ask Adam, but I don't think he'd be interested in it." She said, not looking me in the eye. My smirk grew bigger as I understand where this was going. "If you're not gonna' be an irritating prick, do you, maybe, want to go?" She asked with a small, shy smile. I chuckled at her attempt at calling me a name.

"Well, I'll have to clear my ever-growing schedule…" I pretended to be serious, but failed completely when my smile broke through. She laughed, and I continued. "But, sure, I'll pencil you in." I told her, and for it seemed the millionth time today, I gave her a genuine smile. "I'll promise not to be a prick." I added lightly, making her giggle again. I stuck out my pinky to secure my promise, and she rolled her eyes before twisting her pinky around mine with a smile. When our skin touched, I felt a heat course through my hand, and it was as if electricity was flowing across my skin. She pulled away quickly, and I wondered to myself if she'd felt the static feeling, as well. She quickly covered herself up.

"You're such a dork." She told me, making me laugh before nodding to agree with her. "Finish you're homework so I can go home." She added, and I rolled my eyes at her playfully before getting to work on the last few questions. Surprisingly, I got done in only around ten minutes, and I shut the packet into my book before stuffing it back in my black bag.

"I'm done." I told her after putting my pencil back, and she nodded, not taking her eyes off the book. I waved my hand in front of her face, only to get no response. Is she _really_ that into the book? "Earth to _Clare-Bear." _I said loudly with a smirk, and her head whipped up to glare at me.

"What?" She asked, setting her book down.

"I said, I'm done. Let's go." I repeated, and she put everything away in her tote bag before standing up to follow me out the door. We walked to the front doors in a comfortable silence, striding side by side, until I stepped ahead of her to open the door. She smiled and said a small thanks before walking through, me following after her. When we reached the bottom of the steps, I spoke.

"So, um, thanks for coming today." I thanked her, and she just waved it off.

"It was no problem really. You weren't that big of a prick." She said jokingly, then turning around and walking away. I chuckled. "See you in English tomorrow." She called over her shoulder, turning to look at me before waving goodbye. I waved back, still laughing lightly.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." I shouted before walking over to Morty and climbing in. The dependant old vintage hearse started with a few creaks, before making a low grumbling noise. I smiled and packed out of the parking spot, turning on the radio.

I couldn't wait until Friday.

I listened to one soft song the whole way over to the outside entrance of the library.

_Merrily we fall out of line,_

_Out of line._

_I'd fall anywhere with you,_

_I'm by your side._

_Swinging in the rain, _

_Humming melodies._

_We're not going anywhere until we freeze. _

_I'm not afraid,_

_Anymore._

_I'm not, afraid._

_Forever is a long time._

_But I, wouldn't mind spending it by your side._

_Carefully we'll place for our destiny,_

_You came and you took this heart,_

_And set it free._

_Every word you write or sing,_

_Is so warm to me. _

_So warm to me,_

_I'm torn, I'm torn,_

_To be._

_Right where you are._

_I'm not afraid, _

_Anymore._

_I'm not afraid._

_Forever is a long time. _

_But I wouldn't mind spending it by your side. _

_Tell me,_

_Everyday._

_That I'll get to wake up to that smile. _

_I wouldn't mind it,_

_At all. _

_I wouldn't mind it at all._

When I got there, I saw Adam waiting for me with a mischievous smile on his face.

**_End of Chapter 3. _**

**So, I adore that song. I think that Lydia would've really like it too, she was really sweet like that. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter, it took a lot to write it, because today just... well, sucked. Once again, please leave a review and give me your opinion of this chapter! **

**-Emmy Jean.**


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